A gleaming new hospital stands on a hillside in rural Burundi, a tribute to a tax system envied in many parts of Africa and the government’s commitment to home-grown development of one of the world’s poorest countries. “It was built entirely from our own resources,” says Dr Liboire Nigiri, Director General at the Ministry of Public Health. “Before long Burundians won’t have to go abroad for interventions and surgery. They will use their very own hospital.” The 150-bed Karusi referral hospital is the latest gleaming example of the way that the government of Burundi has turned around a corrupt and ineffective tax collection system to comply with the demands of East African Community (EAC) membership and modernise its public spending. The facility which was officially opened in mid-2014 boasts of a gleaming new ambulance parked outside the emergency area, new beds, mattresses, furniture and equipment, flowers budding along its tidy walkways and grass taking root in open areas. “This facility, paid for entirely from domestic funds, would never have been possible without the leadership of the government and the hard work and dedication of the OBR (Office Burundaise des Recettes – Burundi Revenue Authority) says OBR Commissioner General Dr. Domitien Ndihokubwayo.” Over the last four years, the government has moved closer to its target of funding its own spending 100% from its own tax and customs revenue. OBR has been supported by TradeMark Africa as part of its programme to help EAC governments and private sector institutions modernise and improve...